On Wednesday 9 April, the European Commission launched its ‘IPCEI Design Support Hub’ (design support hub for important projects of common European interest). Its aim is to support candidates for IPCEIs once they have been approved as such. The launch was announced at a meeting of the Joint European Forum for IPCEI (‘JEF-IPCEI’) attended by Executive Vice-Presidents Teresa Ribera and Stéphane Séjourné and representatives of the Member States. The forum also approved the launch of the design phase for a new potential IPCEI candidate on nuclear technologies.
The project covers small modular reactors (‘SMRs’) and advanced modular reactors (‘AMRs’), uranium processing, the supply chain, research and development of nuclear fusion technologies and the diversification of nuclear production for medical purposes.
The Member States concerned, in this case France, Italy and Romania, will define the project’s scope and structure with the help of the new support platform.
“This IPCEI can play a key role in relocating industry, strengthening our competitiveness and achieving our climate objectives. It can also make Europe a world leader in nuclear innovation”, boasted Stéphane Séjourné. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)